Mims Davies
Main Page: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)Department Debates - View all Mims Davies's debates with the Wales Office
(2 days, 8 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)
Let us have some reality. Today, inflation hit 3.6%, the highest across the G7. This UK Labour Government have a glossy shine on their so-called industrial strategy, but it is simply proving that their actions and ethos deliver only worse outcomes for Wales. Businesses across Wales are now facing a disgraceful double whammy, as just this week Labour in Cardiff passed plans to impose a dire tourism tax. Has the Minister actually carried out any meaningful assessment with the Welsh Government of how many jobs will be lost, as the vital 100,000-strong Welsh tourism sector will be impacted by this tax and by the failing approach to Wales by the two Labour Governments?
Dame Nia Griffith
The Welsh tourism sector is thriving. Last year, British residents took over 7 million overnight trips to Wales and spent more than £2 billion. As the shadow Secretary of State will know, more than 40 countries and holiday destinations around the world, including Greece, Amsterdam, Barcelona and California, have introduced a form of visitor levy, and many of us have paid taxes abroad without even noticing. If a visitor levy were introduced by all Welsh local authorities, it could raise up to £33 million, which would help support the long-term thriving industry in Wales, as well as provide facilities such as toilets that local people can use. I am confident that the Welsh Government will work with businesses and tourists alike to get this right.
Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)
Let us have another reality check. Information provided to us by the Department for Transport confirms that Conservative expenditure on Welsh rail exceeded £5 billion over our time in office, underpinned by our plans to deliver the north Wales main line. Yet in a January sitting of the Welsh Affairs Committee, the Welsh Secretary roundly criticised Welsh rail before claiming:
“That is a direct consequence, I am afraid, of the last 14 years of underfunding”.
As usual, this Government’s words and beliefs and the reality are poles apart. This Labour Government are now offering peanuts—just a miserable £400 million over an entire decade. Will the Secretary of State retract her past claims to the Welsh Affairs Committee and the similar ones that have been made on the Wales Office Government social media accounts?
